Philadelphia’s City Hall and some other city buildings are now more accessible for people with disabilities.
The installation of new tactile signs, grab bars in restrooms, and other upgrades will help the nearly 17% of Philadelphia residents who are living with a disability. That’s one of the highest rates of residents with disabilities among large cities, according to the American Community Survey.
Philadelphia’s ADA Unit was created in 2022 to accomplish as many low- or no-cost corrective actions as possible from the ADA Transition Plan. On Wednesday, city leaders celebrated the completion of that work in City Hall.
The city got a $300,000 grant from the Operations Transformation Fund to support the funding and installation of ADA compliant signage and corrective actions, including the addition of grab bars in ADA restrooms, lowering mirrors and soap and towel dispensers that are too high for wheelchair access on the wall, and reducing door speeds.
Over 600 tactile, high contrast signs have been installed in City Hall, with room numbers printed in braille.
“Everybody can observe them in the way that makes sense to them,” said Susanne Erb, an advocate for disability rights. “They are perceivable for people in terms of high contrast. They’re perceivable for anybody. They’re perceivable for people who use wheelchairs. They’re perceivable for people who are blind but are not Braille readers.”
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